Crowded Fields Worry Dems in Southern California

Ami Bera endorsed Andrew Janz, who is challenging Devin Nunes.

When Rep. Ed Royce (R-39) and Darrell Issa (R-49) “announced they would not seek reelection earlier this year, it seemed at first like just another political gift from Trump to Democrats. Opposition to Trump has invigorated the left, and Democratic candidates have already ridden that unprecedented energy to unexpected victories in special elections.”

“But now Democrats worry they might have a surfeit of enthusiasm. California has a top-two primary system—meaning all candidates of whatever party affiliation compete head-to-head in a June primary, and the top two advance to the general election. In safely Democratic areas, those two candidates are often both Democrats. In the Issa and Royce districts, which each have five or more serious Democratic contenders running, some Democrats worry the top two might both be Republicans.”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-33): “There is a legitimate concern that we have a situation where no Democrat makes the top two because so many Democrats are running.”

“California Democratic Party Chair Eric Bauman recently phoned into a meeting of the six major candidates running for Royce’s seat. The meeting was convened to talk about the numbers problem, and he called in ‘to talk about what’s at stake and the risk of having too many candidates,’ he said.” (BuzzFeed)